1. Field of the Invention
The present invention pertains to the art of refrigerators and, more particularly, to the construction of a freezer door of a refrigerator.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
There exist various styles of refrigerators on the market. Most common are side-by-side, top mount, and bottom mount models. In a side-by-side model, fresh food and freezer compartments are arranged laterally adjacent one another. A top mount refrigerator includes an upper freezer compartment and a lower fresh food compartment. Finally, bottom mount models have the fresh food compartment located above the freezer compartment.
In bottom mount models, it is known to employ either pivoting freezer doors and freezer doors which slide between open and closed positions. In bottom mount refrigerators employing sliding doors, it is common to mount rail assemblies to opposing side walls of the freezer compartment through the use of mechanical fasteners, and then to interconnect extensible portions of the rail assemblies to the freezer door. In this manner, the freezer door can be supported for selective sliding movement towards and away from the refrigerator cabinet, and one or more baskets can be supported upon the rails for movement in conjunction with the door.
In any case, at least the supports for the basket(s) are connected to the door such that, as the door is slid relative to a cabinet of the refrigerator, the basket shifts into and out of the freezer compartment. Since the freezer door is typically made of sheet metal or other thin materials, the door must be structurally reinforced in order to enable the secure attachment of the supports. Although an entire, dedicated door construction could be provided for this purpose, it is considered advantageous, at least from an economic standpoint, to provide a freezer door assembly which will enable freezer door components, as well as core manufacturing techniques and machinery, intended for use in constructing a pivoting freezer door to only be modified or supplemented so as to be usable in forming a sliding refrigerator freezer door. Therefore, there exists a need in the art for a cost effective and efficient manner in which to form a structurally reinforced, slidably mounted refrigerator freezer door.
The present invention is directed to forming a structurally reinforced refrigerator freezer door, particularly for use as a slidably mounted freezer door in a bottom mount style refrigerator. In general, the freezer door of the invention includes an outer door pan, an inner, preferably thermoformed door liner, a plurality of corner blocks, and vertical support brackets. In accordance with the most preferred form of the invention, the outer door pan is formed by bending a piece of sheet metal in order to create in-turned top, bottom, and opposing side wall portions, which extend substantially perpendicular to a front panel portion, as well as return flange portions which extend substantially parallel to the front panel portion. The return flange portions define a plurality of tabs which are preferably provided with holes. The front panel is spaced from the return flange portions such that an interior cavity is defined by the door pan. Brackets are preferably secured, such as by welding, mechanical fasteners or the like, within the interior cavity at the junctures of the top/side and bottom/side wall portions to enhance the structural rigidity of the door pan.
The corner blocks are positioned at respective corner portions of the interior cavity and then foam insulation is injected into the interior cavity, thereby filling any voids and fixedly securing the corner blocks in position. Thereafter, the door liner is fitted over the insulated door and fixedly secured to the door pan, preferably through the use of mechanical fasteners which extend through a peripheral portion of the door liner, are received in respective ones of the tab holes, and are covered by a peripheral gasket carried by the liner. The corner blocks are preferably molded as plastic honeycomb structures. The liner is also provided with holes which align with boss portions of the corner blocks, thereby enabling mechanical fasteners to be used to connect the vertical support brackets, which are ultimately adapted to be attached to generally horizontally extending slide rails of an overall support rail assembly for the door, to the liner, with the fasteners being securely received in the corner blocks. A handle is also preferably attached to the door pan.
Various advantages are achieve in forming a freezer door in accordance with the present invention. For instance, the door pan and liner can actually be used in connection with forming a freezer door intended for either pivoting or sliding movement. Employing the additional corner blocks provides the added structural reinforcement need to support the weight of the door, as well as any associated loaded freezer basket for sliding movement. By making the corner blocks out of plastic in accordance with the invention, a lower thermal conductivity versus a metal block is established and a thermal break is created, thereby minimizing the transmission of thermal energy through the door. This, in turn, reduces the potential for condensation to develop on the exterior of the door, as well as decreases the overall energy consumption of the refrigerator.
Additional objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become more readily apparent from the following detailed description of a preferred embodiment when taken in conjunction with the drawings wherein like reference numerals refer to corresponding parts in the several views.